Japanese director calls for objective view on China's anti-epidemic fight

The international community needs to take an objective view on China's fight against COVID-19, a Japanese documentary director has told Xinhua.

"I have seen some distorted reports about China, and I hope that the international media and people in other countries can understand China's efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19 from an objective perspective," Ryo Takeuchi, who lives in China, said.

"This is my biggest wish as a documentary director," he added.

Takeuchi has made two documentaries successively over the past few months on the anti-epidemic fight in the Chinese city of Nanjing, with both hitting the headlines on Yahoo Japan, one of the most visited websites in the country.

Both documentaries have been shown by well-known Japanese broadcasters, including NHK and TV Asahi Corporation.

Having lived in Nanjing for seven years, Takeuchi said the idea of making such documentaries came from his growing awareness of China's quarantine measures.

Noting that he did not understand such measures at first when he and his family members were quarantined after returning from Japan in mid-February, Takeuchi said he was later impressed by the meticulous work of the city's community workers and was touched by the changes seen in every aspect of his life.

"Nanjing, a city of 8.5 million people, has so far not seen a single death from novel coronavirus infection, and all the some-90 confirmed cases recovered from hospital in March. I am deeply moved by the unprecedented solidarity and dedication of the Chinese people in the face of the epidemic," he said.

"As far as I know, many hotels are voluntarily providing isolated accommodation for people with mild symptoms or returning from overseas," he said.

"I was anxious to let my friends and the Japanese people see China's specific epidemic prevention measures, to let everyone know how China controlled the epidemic effectively and to provide a reference for Japan," he added.

Takeuchi said he believes the simpleness and directness of recording ordinary lives in Nanjing amid the epidemic are the reasons behind the success of his two documentaries, raising the footage of drones broadcasting anti-epidemic guidelines, robots delivering medicine to patients, and his son taking online classes at home as examples.